Skip to main content

Honningkagehjerter #ChristmasCookies


December always means Christmas cookies. Lots and lots of Christmas cookies. I was excited to see that Ellen at Family Around the Table was organizing a week-long event surrounding cookies. She has also created a giveway from one of our event sponsors. More on that soon! For now, I hope you enjoy the recipes my fellow bloggers have shared to celebrate the cookie season. Get baking!


Friday's Cookie Tray
Honningkagehjerter &Apologies
I am apologizing, in advance, to my favorite Danes because I have taken my usual culinary liberties with this traditional Danish Christmas gingerbread cookie. Undskyld på forhånd! Sorry in advance, Rikke, Mette, Ulla, Danya, and Stella.

Honningkagehjerter = Honning (honey) + kage (cake) + hjerter (hearts)

If you plan to make this, please read through completely. The dough must sit, refrigerated, for two days before it can be rolled and baked. So, don't plan on making and baking these on the same day.

There is something magical about making Honningkagehjerter dough. The texture. The scent. It's magnificent. It's hard to wait the two days to bake them...


One thing that posed challenging - the original recipe calls for hjorthornssalt which is baker's ammonia; hjorthornssalt was originally made from the ground antlers of reindeer. I substituted baking powder and hoped for the best.

Part I

Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 C organic light brown sugar
  • 1/2 C honey (I used a pine honey)
  • 1/2 C blackstrap molasses
  • 1-1/4 C butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 t ground cinnamon
  • 2 t ground cloves
  • 2 t ground ginger
  • 2 t ground cardamom
  • 8 C flour
  • 2 t baking powder

Procedure
Place sugar, honey, molasses, and butter in a saucepan and cook until the butter is melted. Whisk the eggs and spices into the mix. Sift flour with baking powder and knead the dough thoroughly. Wrap and place in the refrigerator for two days.

Part II

So after the dough has been in the fridge for two days, pull the dough out and let it come to room temperature to make it easier to roll. Roll the dough out between pieces of parchment paper.

Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place them on a baking stone. Bake at 370 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

Let cool completely then melt semisweet chocolate in a double-boiler. Paint the tops of the cookies with a layer of chocolate.

For a more traditional look, press decorative bits of paper into the chocolate before it cools completely. Here's what Honningkagehjerter look like when they are made by a real Dane...


And here's what they look like when they are made by an American of Filipino descent who learned to cook in Italy...


This is the version I made for #ChristmasCookies Week.

Comments

  1. Two days??? Wow, I am the worst planner in the world! So glad you pointed that out first in the recipe! They look worth the wait!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am soooo impressed! Your version is gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce